Usually, I have to look overseas to find a horror movie as ridiculous as this! Since “The Slumber Party Massacre” was released five years earlier, the slasher genre had been altered forever by the introduction (and subsequent popularity of) the “Nightmare on Elm Street” series. I mention this, because the existence of that franchise is the only satisfactory explanation I can come up with to rationalize the complete left turn into absurdity that is made by “Slumber Party Massacre II.” I only wish it had sustained the madness throughout its scant 75 minute runtime.

Courtney Bates (Crystal Bernard), the youngest survivor from the first film, is now a young adult who is plagued by nightmares of her earlier traumatic experience. She’s in an all-girl rock band, whose music you would only pretend to enjoy if you were her boyfriend or were looking to date her. The band, which includes Sheila (Juliette Cummins), Sally (Heidi Kozak) and Amy (Kimberly McArthur), go to a condo owned by Sheila’s parents where they intend to have a slumber party for the weekend. Matt (Patrick Lowe) is invited to come watch the band play and get to know Courtney, while Sheila’s boyfriend T.J. (Joel Hoffmann) and his buddy Jeff (Scott Westmoreland) crash the party.

All the while, Courtney’s disturbing nightmares persist. The dreams include the sight of her sister, Valerie, in a mental institution, as well as a man dressed in black and wielding a guitar with a large drill bit attached to the neck. These dark visions start to spill over into the waking world, confusing Courtney, worrying her friends and annoying local police. Finally, the Driller Killer emerges into the real world by killing Matt right in front of Courtney. With song and dance, he kills each of Courtney’s friends one by one until just the two of them are left. Courtney wins the battle, fulfilling the Driller Killer’s wish for her to “Light My Fire” by setting him ablaze. That’s when the movie, which has already been weird enough, takes a turn for the utterly mystifying with an ending that appears to show that the whole movie has been one big fakeout dream. Courtney first wakes up in her condo bed with Matt (which would only have nullified part of the movie) before he transforms into the Driller Killer. She screams, only to find that it is she, not her sister, who is in a mental institution. I give up.

The only real reason to watch this movie is for Atanas Illitch, who plays the Driller Killer. Atanas Illitch, the son of Mike Illitch (owner of the Detroit Tigers, the Detroit Red Wings, and owner/founder of Little Caesar’s Pizza), puts everything he’s got into the role, and what comes out is a terrifically hammy, 100% entertaining performance. Crystal Bernard is the only cast member to go on to anything of any real significance, starring on the hit 1990s TV sitcom “Wings,” but you probably wouldn’t have gauged that future success based on this movie. The sad thing about the Driller Killer is that the mayhem (and the awesomeness) doesn’t get underway until the film’s final 25 minutes. You’re left to either fast forward to that point, or suffer the first 50 minutes, which are excruciating apart from some female nudity. If you’re not into that, then yeah… it’s gonna be a chore to sit through, and all for a payoff that’s sorta/kinda worth it.

Unimpressed by horror movies with nuanced plots? Looking for something extremely lightweight? Have you ever wondered what a slasher movie written and directed by women would look like? “The Slumber Party Massacre” is your app for that. Made during the height of the slasher genre’s popularity, “The Slumber Party Massacre” was intended as a parody of the genre, but was filmed straight. As a result, this low-budget horror still contains some of the humor from the original script, yet is unburdened by standard things such as plot or character development.

Trish (Michele Michaels) is a high school students whose parents are going away for the weekend. This provides an opportunity for Trish and friends Kim (Debra Deliso), Diane (Gina Mari), and Jackie (Andree Honore) to get together for a slumber party. Trish also wants to invite Valerie (Robin Stille), the new girl in school, but is turned down when Valerie overhears Diane talking trash about her in the girls’ locker room. Meanwhile, a serial killer named Russ Thorn (Michael Villella) has escaped from prison, looking to add to the list of five murders for which he’d been serving time. His weapon of choice: a power drill. Quickly, he kills a telephone repair woman and appropriates her van, and then kills a female student who becomes locked in the school after going back for a textbook.

As night falls, the slumber party begins. Three boys, including Diane’s boyfriend, show up to join in. Instead of going to the party, Valerie, who lives next door, has elected to stay home and babysit her younger sister, Courtney (Jennifer Meyers). Their relationship seems to be a contentious one, full of squabbling and insults… so, your typical sibling rivalry. Courtney wants to be where the fun is, but Valerie says “no” to the party. It isn’t long before Russ Thorn shows up to crash the party, killing a neighbor who’d promised Trish’s mother he’d watch over the house. Thorn gets into Trish’s house via the garage door, which no one in the house seems to have a firm grasp on how to close properly. Diane and her boyfriend, who step out to the garage for a make out session, are next to die.

Inside the house, nothing yet seems to be amiss. While Trish is on the phone with her gym teacher (who is quite clearly no more than five years older than her students) discussing a recent baseball game, the others are waiting for the pizza guy to show up. When he does, the girls are horrified to see him collapse to the floor dead, with bloody holes drilled where his eyes ought to be. The coach overhears the screams, then calls Valerie to check on the situation before deciding it’s better if she goes there personally. No further calls to or from Trish’s house are possible, as Thorn has cut the phone line. Both of the remaining boys are killed outside the house.

Back inside, Thorn kills Jackie, causing Trish and Kim to barricade themselves upstairs. When Courtney takes it upon herself to go check out the party, Valerie follows her, hoping to find out if everything’s okay over there. Scared out of their minds at this point, Trish and Kim wonder if Valerie and the killer aren’t somehow in cahoots. Thorn breaks into the bedroom and attacks Trish and Kim, stealing Kim’s knife and stabbing her to death with it. Valerie and Courtney enter the house and discover Kim’s body stuffed inside the refrigerator. Courtney hides under the couch, while Valerie eludes Thorn by going down to the basement.

With Courtney still under the couch, Thorn switches places with the dead pizza guy under the sheet which the girls had placed over the body. Just then, the coach shows up, but Thorn gets the drop on her and kills her. Trish, who was nearby, stabs Thorn, but that just pisses him off. After taking her time choosing a weapon with which to arm herself, Valerie emerges from the basement to attack Thorn with a machete. The action spills outside near Trish’s family swimming pool. There, Valerie cuts off a piece of the drill bit from Thorn’s power drill before cutting off his left hand as he falls into the swimming pool. Believing the nightmare is over, Valerie and Trish hug. Suddenly, Thorn leaps out of the swimming pool, only to fall directly onto the machete, still being held tightly by Valerie.

“The Slumber Party Massacre” is cheap, and definitely looks it. But this is a slasher movie, and they work best when they appear rough around the edges in every respect. Kudos to actor Michael Villella, whose crazy eyes are the creepiest thing about this movie. The movie itself scores points by cutting through the BS and skipping right into the action. I do wonder what it would have looked like had the satirical nature of the original script been followed to the letter. But the end result is a movie that belongs as part of a horror marathon. There are certainly less interesting ways to spend 75 minutes of your time.